Jones: Wolves can cope without Karl

10 April 2010 10:33

David Jones believes Wolves have the strength in depth to cope without his midfield partner and skipper Karl Henry against Stoke on Sunday.

Henry will miss Wolves' next three games after being sent off against Arsenal last weekend.

Jones and Henry have played a big part in Mick McCarthy's side moving away from the bottom three of the Premier League.

But Jones, in sparkling form in recent weeks, has faith in the back-up players to step into the breach and hopes Wolves can be safe from relegation by the time Henry is eligible to return.

He said: "Being without Karl for three games is a big loss. In my view it wasn't a sending off at Arsenal but I think that's the opinion of most people who saw it.

"Karl is the sort of player you do miss when he's not playing and it's disappointing what happened but we have to move on and get some points without him.

"We'll have to cope without him and we've got some good players who will be striving to come in and take his place.

"We've got a few players back fit again like Dave Edwards and Andy Keogh and have got a strong squad to cope with these sort of things. There's some quality there to come in.

"Karl is right behind us and wanting us to be safe by the time he is available again after the next three games."

Jones is aware Wolves may only be two points above the drop time by the time they face Stoke if Hull and West Ham obtain positive results against Burnley and Sunderland respectively.

But he insisted: "Even if they have won, I don't think any added pressure will have any effect on us. We'll just be concentrating on our own game.

"Whatever the results, we just want to keep the gap that we've got now and edge our way to safety.

"In recent games we have played very well, got some good results and the confidence is very high.

"The wins at Burnley and West Ham showed how far we have come and the belief has grown throughout the season.

"Those results had been coming because we had put in some good performances before that.

"We had done well against Manchester United and Chelsea, even though they beat us in the end, and last weekend against Arsenal we were unlucky to lose.

"We've had a good run and now we want to get back to winning ways on Sunday."

Wolves came from two goals down to force a 2-2 draw at Stoke earlier in the campaign thanks to a brace from Jody Craddock and Jones knows the Potters are more than just a physical side.

He said: "Stoke are not just a physical side. They haven't got where they are over the last few years by just being tough to beat.

"They've got some quality players in there as well and that alone makes it a difficult game."

Jones suffered the agony of being relegated from the Premier League with Derby and he knows Wolves cannot rely on those below them to continue to slip up.

"We have come a long way but we know the job is not done yet," added the 25-year-old.

"It is hard not to think about how many more points you think you need but it's the same old story in that you have to concentrate on each game.

"We think we've got a good chance on Sunday to get some points on the board. We've put ourselves in a very good position. It is in our hands.

"We know we've got a cushion that could still be made up by other teams but this is a position we want to be in at this juncture of the season.

"If we continue along the same lines as we have done for the previous games, then I'm sure we will get the points we need to stay up."

Jones admits it was a trying period in his career at Pride Park but he is enjoying his football with Wolves.

He said: "It was difficult for everyone concerned at the club (at Derby). You could see the change in atmosphere from one season to the next.

"There were a lot of changes in the background, not just on the pitch, and it was sad to see the club change fortunes so massively through the two seasons.

"But now at Wolves it is completely different and I'm relishing being in a Premier League team but, like I said, we must concentrate on the fact we are not safe and we need to concentrate for these last five games."